10 ways to cut your electricity bill: from dryers to LED lamps

Reduce your electricity bill This is possible not only through expensive repairs, solar panels or replacing all household appliances. Sometimes noticeable savings It starts with much more prosaic things: don’t dry one T-shirt in the dryer, don’t keep the TV on standby and don’t boil a three-liter kettle for one cup of coffee.

Most household energy costs come from small, regular activities. They rarely look dramatic individually, but the counter can patiently collect them for months. Below are ten habits that can actually reduce your electricity consumption.

1. Use your dryer less often

The dryer is one of the most energy-consuming appliances in the home. In the warm season, it is more profitable to dry clothes on the balcony, in the yard or on a folding dryer in a well-ventilated area.

Even partial removal of the dryer reduces energy consumption. The Energy Saving Trust says switching to naturally drying clothes can significantly reduce your annual energy costs. Source.

2. Shorten your hot shower time.

Long showers not only waste water, but also the energy needed to heat it. This is especially noticeable in houses with an electric boiler or electric water heater.

Shortening the shower by a few minutes does not require heroism, although in the early morning humanity traditionally considers this a violation of basic rights. But for counting, this is one of the most useful habits.

3. Do not leave equipment on standby

TVs, set-top boxes, chargers, computers, speakers, coffee machines and many other devices continue to consume small amounts of energy even in standby mode.

Standby doesn’t always mean off. The US Department of Energy notes that so-called “phantom loads” are common in most electronic devices. They can be reduced by unplugging equipment from the outlet or using a surge protector with a switch. Source.

Of course, the refrigerator, freezer, router, if necessary, and medical equipment do not need to be turned off. Saving is good until it turns into a household quest “why is everything defrosted.”

4. Check the thermal insulation of the boiler and pipes

If your home uses a storage water heater, the heat gradually escapes through the tank and hot water pipes. Insulating the boiler and pipes helps reduce these losses.

The Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy also advises regulating the boiler temperature and rational use of hot water, especially during periods of high consumption. Source.

5. Pour only the right amount of water into the kettle

An electric kettle works quickly, but the water still requires energy to heat. If you boil a full kettle every time for the sake of one cup, the extra watts will go to waste.

Pour in as much water as you really need. The Energy Saving Trust estimates that the habit of not overfilling the kettle can result in small but sustainable savings over the course of a year. Source.

6. Install faucet aerators

The aerator mixes the flow of water with air and reduces water flow without a sharp deterioration in pressure. This is especially useful where hot water is heated by electricity.

Less hot water means less work for the boiler. As a result, not only water is saved, but also electricity.

7. Wash at 30°C

The main part of the energy during washing is spent not on rotating the drum, but on heating water. For most everyday clothes, the regime is usually sufficient 30°Cif things do not require special sanitary treatment.

The Energy Saving Trust recommends using colder cycles and running the wash less frequently but with full loads. This reduces both electricity consumption and water consumption. Source.

An exception is linen, towels, clothes after illness or heavily soiled items: they may require a higher temperature according to the manufacturer’s instructions and sanitary recommendations.

8. Only run the dishwasher full

A dishwasher typically uses about the same amount of energy and water per cycle, whether it’s half or fully loaded.

Therefore, it is more profitable to wait until the load is full, use the economy mode and not turn on the machine for the sake of two cups and one plate. If the appliance is too large for a family of one or two people, it may actually perform worse than a more compact model. Source.

9. Replace old lamps with LED

LED lamps consume significantly less electricitythan older incandescent lamps and many halogen models. They also last longer, so the savings come not only in the bill, but also in the ongoing purchase of new bulbs.

When replacing lamps, you should look not only at the wattage, but also at the brightness in lumens, color temperature and energy efficiency class. For living rooms, warm or neutral light is usually more convenient, rather than a blinding office spotlight, which for some reason ended up in the bedroom.

10. Seal cracks around windows and doors

Gaps around windows, doors, balcony frames and pipe passages let hot air in in summer and release heat in winter. In homes with air conditioning or electric heating, this directly affects energy consumption.

Seals, door adjustments, sealing small cracks and proper ventilation often have a noticeable effect without major repairs. At the same time, natural ventilation should not be completely blocked where it is necessary for safety and air quality.

What will give the greatest effect?

The most noticeable expense in most homes is usually not the phone on charger, but the water heating, air conditioning, heating, dryer, oven and large appliances.

Therefore, it is better to start with habits that relate to these appliances: less hot water, reasonable operation of the boiler, full loading of the washing machine and dishwasher, natural drying of clothes, adjusting the air conditioner and protecting the apartment from air leaks.

Main: There is no one magic button that will cut your bill in half in a month. But ten small changes, repeated daily, do reduce your intake. The cheapest kilowatt-hour is the one you didn’t have to buy.

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